GfG Symposium “Epigenetics & Chromatin”
From September 24th to 26th, 2025, the annual conference of the German Genetics Society (GfG) took place at Justus-Liebig-University Giessen. This year’s focus was on the theme “Epigenetics & Chromatin.” The organizers of the GfG – Sandra Hake (President), Sigurd Braun (Vice President), Alexander Brehm, Patrick Heun, and Fides Zenk (all members of the advisory board) – were pleased with the strong participation of around 80 scientists from Germany and abroad.
The three-day event offered a diverse program with exciting presentations, including numerous unpublished studies that sparked lively discussions as well as intensive and collegial scientific exchanges. A particular highlight was the Max-Delbrück-Lecture delivered by Prof. Dr. Peter B. Becker from LMU Munich.
Prof. Dr. Peter Becker spoke about his scientific life’s work: the discovery and mechanistic elucidation of X-chromosome dosage compensation in fruit flies – a lecture that captivated and inspired the entire audience.
In addition to numerous other brilliant talks, the presenters of the excellent poster contributions had the opportunity to introduce their work in short flash-talks beforehand. As a result, the poster sessions on both days were very well attended. In this stimulating atmosphere, many professional conversations and discussions unfolded, offering young researchers in particular the chance to present their work and initiate new collaborations.
The concluding highlight of the conference was the presentation of the 2025 Elisabeth-Gateff-Prize for the best dissertation in the field of genetics/epigenetics. The €3,000 prize was personally awarded by Prof. Dr. Gateff to this year’s laureate, Dr. Agata Kalita – a special moment, as Prof. Gateff had traveled from Mainz specifically for the ceremony. Dr. Kalita completed her outstanding doctoral research at the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Claudia Keller Valsecchi. In her work, Dr. Kalita investigated the mechanisms of X-chromosome dosage compensation in mosquitoes and, in her presentation, highlighted key differences from the mechanism established in Drosophila – the very topic introduced by Prof. Dr. Peter Becker in his Max-Delbrück-Lecture on the opening day of the conference.
To conclude the symposium, the €300 prizes for the best poster and the best short talk were awarded to Jonathan Lenz (University of Marburg) and Lena Paasche (JLU Giessen), respectively.
As part of the GfG members’ meeting on the third day of the conference, the GfG president Prof. Dr. Sandra Hake reported on the activities of the Executive Board and Advisory Board over the past two years. In addition, Treasurer Prof. Dr. Markus Kuhlmann presented the society’s financial developments.
Special thanks go to all helpers for their dedicated support, as well as to the JLU Giessen for providing the lecture hall and the spacious foyer for exhibitions, poster sessions and catering. The organizers also express their sincere gratitude to the sponsors, whose financial support made the conference possible: Integra, Zymo Research, Active Motif, NEB Biolabs, BD, Diagenode, and the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM).
The GfG warmly congratulates all award winners and thanks all participants who, through their commitment, contributed significantly to the success of the meeting. The next annual GfG conference is eagerly awaited!
